Hartselle natives, Troy University students win opportunity to open for Dave Barnes at Workplay theater

From left, Taylor, Logan and Madison Cain make up the CainTrain. The group won the TopBlip.com contest to be named the opening act for singer-songwriter Dave Barnes Thursday, April 26, 2012 at the Alabama Theatre. (Courtesy of CainTrain)

A trio of
Troy University students won the right to open for Dave Barnes, a singer-songwriter from
Nashville who will perform at the Workplay theater on Thursday night.

The CainTrain, comprised
of siblings Taylor, Madison and Logan Cain, won the TopBlip.com contest after
several rounds of voting. They almost didn't enter the contest, and it's all
John Mayer's fault.

A friend had
bought tickets for them to the John Mayer concert for April 26, and afterward
they found out about the contest, but didn't want to waste the tickets. Luckily
for the trio – and not so luckily for Mayer – the tour was canceled because of
health concerns.

"It just worked
out in a really quirky way," Taylor said.

They entered
later than most and Taylor said they had tremendous support from friends and
family. The winner was decided through three factors: votes from fans, a vote
from Barnes himself and a vote by the TopBlip.com staff. With two of the three
votes, they beat out Huntsville native and singer-songwriter David Ashley.

"It wasn't
just because of our own talent; it was definitely because of our family and
friend's votes," Taylor Cain said.

The siblings'
dad is the pastor at World Harvest Outreach church in Hartselle and plays the guitar. Taylor Cain said
they've grown up with music. Each of the
siblings plays two instruments and sings in the band.

They've
played several places, including their home church and the former Java House in
Hartselle as well as the Momma Goldberg's in Troy.

Winning the
contest was especially sweet for the group since they've all been fans of
Barnes' music for years. Taylor was introduced to when she was 16 and
the three have been listening to him since.

"I feel like
I've been a follower for a really long time. We are all huge Dave Barnes fans,"
Taylor said.

The group
gets to play three songs, including two originals and one cover. Taylor said
they've decided to play Whitney Houston's "Dance with Somebody" for their
cover, since that's their most viewed video on YouTube. They will also play
originals "Stay on Board" and "Back to the Cross."

Barnes is a
popular contemporary Christian musician, and wrote "God Gave Me You." He
released the song in 2010, and country music star Blake Shelton recorded it for
his 2011 album "Red River Blue."

Tickets to 8
p.m. Thursday concert at the Workplay theater are sold out.

The CainTrain's version of "Dance with Somebody":

This post was updated at 6:39 p.m. to correct where the concert is being held.